A Christmas Town

[buckirj1]

Duh. I'm just noticing your user name. Williamsburg is probably too far away, but you did say anywhere was fine. https://www.visitwilliamsburg.com/seasons/christmas-williamsburg

There's always DW at Christmas. Just sayin'

Have you considered Nashville? The Gaylord Opryland Hotel goes all out for Christmas in terms of decorations and events. Maybe there's a fancy grand historic hotel near you where you can stay for a few days. It might be helpful if you look at the tour itinerary of a local tour bus company to find out where they go during the holiday, and grab some ideas from that. I just looked at my local company, and found: The Biltmore in Asheville, NC; Downtown DC Holiday Market, National Tree and Monuments by Moonlight; Christmas in the Brandywine Valley of PA and DE with visits to Longwood Gardens and Winterthur Mansion. I'm pretty sure the mansions in Newport, RI are decorated. Good Luck!

 

[HHMcG]

I grew up just outside Bethlehem, PA. (a.k.a. Christmas City USA) They go all out for Christmas. All houses in town are requested to put candles in the windows. And Main Street is just beautiful. I would stay at Hotel Bethlehem and be in the heart of it. Though not a small town the center city area is walkable.

https://getdowntownbethlehem.com/get-christmas/

 

[bababear_50]

If you are willing to come to Canada, Niagara on the Lake is a beautiful historical village right over the border from New York State. It’s lovely at Christmas time with the inns and stores all decorated, horse and carriage rides, special Christmas activities, theatre , wineries etc. The exchange rate is very much in your favour so it would be a great bargain as well. It’s worth a visit any time of year.

I second this
Hugs Mel

 

[BamaBoy]

Great ideas to go research. Thank you all for the input. Exactly the kind of places I was thinking of. We have done the Opryland Hotel at Christmas and I would highly recommend that to anyone. This is truly the best forum on the DIS. Good, quality folks here, always willing to help others. Thanks!

 

[krysenchips]

Also in the Pittsburgh area is Indiana, PA which was the boyhood home of Jimmy Stewart and does an 'It's a Wonderful Life' festival in the winter. They have a bunch of stuff going on during that time frame that fits your criteria, but I believe that it runs from mid November to mid December.

 

[Wayland10]

My hometown of Bethlehem Pennsylvania! Carriage rides, lantern tours of colonial buildings, carolers on Main Street, and the candlelight service with the Bach Choir at the Central Moravian Church. The Christmas putz, fireworks over the old steel mill that's been converted into an arts center... It's a great place.

 

[queenofthehive]

McAdenville, NC - the whole town lights up for Christmas. It is very beautiful! Here is the link to more information- https://www.mcadenville-christmastown.com/

 

[figment52]

Georgetown, Colorado

 

[Immadismom]

McAdenville, NC - the whole town lights up for Christmas. It is very beautiful! Here is the link to more information- https://www.mcadenville-christmastown.com/

I live in Belmont, NC, just outside of McAdenville. The town is great, and you can venture over to Belmont for some great restaurants and more small-town feeling!

 

[MEM]

I think a lot of small towns do a big, hometown celebration for Christmas. One of the towns that I lived in growing up does a quaint celebration that starts with a parade down main street to a tree lighting ceremony at the old train station, then they have free horse-drawn carriage rides down main street, the little mom and pop shops giving away hot cocoa and cookies, everything is decorated tastefully and lit up with twinkle lights and street vendors selling heavenly-smelling roasted nuts and fresh kettle corn. The town is Oakmont, PA. I haven't been there for their light up night celebration for a few years but I assume it's just about the same as it always was. They're not big on change--they still go to the extra expense to keep the brick roads rather than paving over them to save time and money. It's a great town with a classic main street, the town is bisected by a single train track which delineates the Haves (above the tracks) and the Have-Nots (below the tracks) and has been the site of quite a few US Open golf championships at the Oakmont Country Club. Trust me, the gossip and drama in that town could fuel a few Hallmark romance movies. Plus, it's only about 20 minutes from the City of Pittsburgh and all their Christmas festivities and museums and the cultural district.

Holy Cow! That's my hometown!! The main street you are talking about must be Allegheny River Blvd. I don't remember any celebrations like that but then I have lived in Boston now for more than half my adult life. I'll have to ask my nieces.

 

[ThisIsJason]

A big chunk Frankenmuth Michigan is Christmas 24/7 more or less.

 

[KakiGori]

If you really want to go small and quaint, then I suggest Kimmswick, Missouri.

http://visitkimmswick.com/christmas_in_kimmswick

 

[halfpintpeggy]

I would suggest checking into Cape May, NJ for a wonderful Christmas atmosphere! The whole historic town gets all dressed up for the holidays, it's just so charming & lovely. They have tons of different Christmas events/tours/etc.

 

[kreckl]

This is a magical place
https://nestlenookfarmsleighrides.com

Jingle Bell Chocolate Tour, sleigh rides...

Lots of little shops and places to eat- walkable. And skating outdoors under the lights....

 

[Lionsfan]

Frankenmuth, MI largest Christmas store in the US. Very cute quaint town.

 

[antmaril]

Frankenmuth, MI largest Christmas store in the US. Very cute quaint town.

I also recommend Frankenmuth, MI. As mentioned by the previous poster, Frankenmuth is home to Bronner’s, the country’s largest Christmas store. If you can’t find it at Bronner’s, you don’t need it.

Frankenmuth is a lovely little town any time of year, but it’s really special at Christmas.

 

[Lewisc]

Most of the Hallmark movies, Christmas and others, are filmed in Vancouver a few that weren't

https://www.countryliving.com/life/travel/g4864/hallmark-christmas-movies-small-towns/

 

[LJSquishy]

Leavenworth, WA.
http://leavenworthchristmaslighting.com/mobile/

 

[dsanner106]

I'm a huge Christmas decorating junkie...sort of like Clark Griswold. We have a dancing light display outside and the inside of our house is over the top...we usually have 8 or 9 trees up for example. However, as quaint as a small town Christmas sounds, could you really make a vacation out of it? Small towns are just that...small. You may find that you were able to get to everything in a day or two at most...then what? I live not far from Dahlonega, but never been there for Xmas.

We're still trying to find a super cool light display in a rural setting. Back in our hometown area of PA, it was family tradition to go to a place called Koziars. http://www.koziarschristmasvillage.com/home/ We would go every Black Friday evening. It was set on a rural farm and was just that quaint family Christmas feel. We'd get hot chocolate and walk around seeing all the lights. We also had the perfect place to cut our trees down called Varner Farms. http://www.varnerfarms.net/ They took you out to the trees in a horse drawn wagon, you cut down your tree and rode back. The farm had a couple of barns converted into Xmas shops, full of ornaments, home made goodies, Christmas tree supplies, etc...they gave out free hot chocolate or hot apple cider. Had a huge train display upstairs in one of the barns. As quaint as it gets. We haven't found any of that stuff here in Atlanta yet...and we'd be willing to drive an hour or more to find it.

I was wondering if you were aware that two of the Hallmark movies were filmed in Helen Ga, about 45 mins from Dahlonega, and it is quite nice during the holidays. If you want to drive a bit further south, National Geographic rates Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain Ga number 4 in the world for their holiday lights display. Similarly they have barns with all sorts of crafts, hot chocolate, cider etc.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/top-10/holiday-lights-photos/